Fugaku didn 't speak with Ryoko for a whole week after that. She wasn 't too bothered by that, although the lack of faith in her and the sannin's skills was concerning. Who did he think she was? Some easily swayed idiot? Far from it. She wasn 't deaf either.

Ryoko caught her fair share of rumors about the snake, but they all were just more reasons why he would be the perfect teacher for her. Strong. Intelligent. People, shinobi and civilians alike, all share their fearful respect for the sannin.

That is what she wanted, besides other agenda that circled her mind...

Minato has not returned to her yet about a meeting being set, that gave Ryoko enough time to devise her strategy. Like always, when she devised her plots, the girl ended up across the head of the Nara clan with a shogi board between them.

'Kid, you 're not in it today, ' the lazy man commented after she lost another game. Ryoko exhaled, suppressing her frustration visibly - losing was her strategy. She wanted to place Shikaku under a false sense of security. So she had to act out the part of being annoyed and distracted.

'Yeah yeah, old man. Ah, maybe I am. Let 's make the game more interesting maybe? ' she set the bait and waited leisurely as both of them set the board again for the next game.

'Sure, what do you have in mind? '

'Well, if I lose this next game, I will owe you a favor. '

'Alright, I 'm listening. And if by a miracle you win? ' he smirked fully confident in his skills. He was clearly not aware that Ryoko binge-read a whole section on shogi strategies the past four days from boredom.

'Well, if I win, then you would assign me as a team lead if at any point such opportunity arises. '

The man blinked, but quickly his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

'Why would you need me to do that? ' Ryoko exhaled deeply before answering. Eyes downcast, faking shyness.

'You are the jonin commander. And ' I know I will go up the ranks fast, but ' even if my rank will be enough, I know that no one will give me a chance to lead a team because of my age ' and because I am a girl... '

'Ahh. I see, sure, kido. But you have to win first, ' he smiled, kidney falling right into her trap. Of course, neither of them knew when such an opportunity would happen. Only Ryoko predicted that it would have to happen soon due to the war that was going on. Sooner or later she will be sent out to the trenches just like any other capable shinobi. And she was fuckin capable.

She won the game.

Shikaku was scratching his chin with confused expressions analyzing the board.

'You 're ' you 're a little devil, ' he finally sighed.

'Nice doing business with you, Shikaku-sama, ' she smiled sweetly and bowed for once before she left. He waved Ryoko off, undoubtedly thinking of strategies in hindsight.

Adults were so easily extorted, that it was not even funny anymore. Ryoko could only hope that Orochimaru would be a bigger challenge.

??????????

Orochimaru was annoyed. That damn pervert's pupil dared to distract him in the midst of an enemy corpse autopsy. He wanted a meeting for some reason, and just to get rid of him, the snake agreed.

To his surprise, it was not Minato 's chakra that approached his morgue door. There was a knock. Maybe a chunin was sent with a message, he thought, making a deep incision on the cadaver's chest.

'Enter, ' he made a sound that should be enough for a shinobi to hear. The door opened behind him. The sound of small feet reached his ears. 'What isss it? ' he urged not even looking the way of the messenger.

'Good evening, Orochimaru-sama. I am Ryoko Uchiha. Minato-san arranged this meeting for me, ' a girly voice said, far calmer than sannin was used to hearing from small children.

He glanced over his shoulder and indeed there stood a little Uchiha girl. You could not mistake the clan resemblance due to the spiky dark hair, deep eyes, and a serious expression. It looked pretty amusing to see such a face on the little child.

'What do you want, child? I am busssssy, ' he said, turning back to his target. Small feet tapped again as she took place on the other side of the table, her head barely peeking over the edge.

'Teach me. I want you to be my sensei, Orochimaru-sama, ' the girl had the audacity, Orochimaru had to give it to her. His golden eyes snapped at the girl narrowing only slightly while his lips sneered into a smirk.

'Youuu? Did Hiruzen sensssei send you? ' that was the only logical explanation. His old sensei was bickering for him to take on a student again.

'No. '

Orochimaru blinked. That 's it? So childish, he thought, going back to slice up the former shinobi.

'No, ' he replied calmly, mirroring the little girl's tone.

'Orochimaru-sama. You are the only person fit to teach me. You are intelligent and strong. You are also incredibly creative with ninjutsu and that is what I want to learn from you. '

'You 're an Uchiha, you 'll learn ninjutsu with your fancy eyessss, ' he said with mirth.

'No! I don 't want to simply

learn

ninjutsu. I want to

create

my own. Sharingan is only a tool and I refuse to use it as some crutch. I am better than that, ' she was bold and for the first time, Orochimaru heard any Uchiha speak this way. To disregard their sharingan? This was something new.

'Hand me a number 12 scalpel, ' he ordered, wanting to test the girl further. She was ' interesting. Detached, calm, and determined. There was passion in her words. Her whole demeanor was something you don 't usually see in kids. Normal kids, that is.

To his surprise, the girl didn 't hesitate to follow his command. She took the right blade and dragged a chair to stand on, so now Ryoko had a better view over the dead body. Casually, like they were preparing dinner, she just handed him the blade over the open chest, not affected by the gore.

Interesting

.

'Youuuuu do it, ' he smiled nodding towards the body between them. She didn 't even blink, only nodded.

'Cause of death or abnormalities? '

Orochimaru would have paused if he were someone else.

'Both, ' he suggested watching her actions without blinking. He was always adamant about taking care of young genin, but he was even more curious at the end of the day. Now, this little girl managed to pique his interest and he could not resist pushing her forward into the bloody mess he himself thrived in.

'Hmm, poor bastard, would probably have died of lung cancer, but it was a senbon to the heart that killed him, ' Ryoko deducted after carefully slicing into the body. Orochimaru nodded slowly. Yes, that was correct, to his surprise.

'Whoooo taught you that? ' the snake asked.

'No one. I like reading books. All kinds of books, ' she smiled at him for a second, and that expression was very eery on the little girl.

He liked it. There was something familiar in the way she talked and acted. Something that reminded him ' of himself. The girl was clearly smart. Or maybe stupid for her lack of fear.

'Hmmm, I do not ssssee how your clan would approve of this arranggggement, ' Orochimaru remarked while the girl kept slicing in search of hidden mysteries in this dead shinobi 's body. Completely casual.

'Well, my father does not believe I would be able to convince you, Orochimaru-sama. But honestly, you are the only one I want teaching me. '

Ryoko was obviously sweet-talking him, but she wasn 't wrong. He was a sannin after all. He was considered a genius among peers. But he was also disregarded by many clans as a pariah of the village.

'And your father would be '? '

'Fugaku Uchiha. '

Orochimaru blinked.

Interessssting

. To teach a clan head's child ' that was something different. It would give him power and leverage over the clan head. Of course, Orochimaru would prefer to teach the heir instead, but ' The girl came to him on her own volition. He really could not see how anyone would have otherwise convinced Fugaku to allow this.

'Have you killllled before? ' he asked.

'Obviously, I am a shinobi, ' she said without pause.

'Alright. Let us spar. I will test your skills and see if you are worthy to be taught anything, ' he snarled dismissively, but his perceptive eyes noticed the genuine smile and sparkle that appeared in the girl's eyes.

'Yes! Orochimaru-sensei! ' she was beaming at him annoyingly, but he will enjoy crushing the kid with a dose of reality. She barked on the wrong tree.

??????????

Okay, Orochimaru was mildly impressed. As expected, Ryoko was nowhere near his skills, but her chakra reserves seemed endless. He noted that the girl suppressed her chakra at all times, but no matter how many ninjutsu she used in their spar, her level of chakra did not decrease.

At first, she didn 't even use her sharingan, but eventually, he pushed her into it. Red eyes tracked him with experience, so she really has been training and killing, he mused. Each of her attacks were precise and with intent to kill. He would not accept anything else, honestly.

In the end, it was her stamina that lost her the fight. The girl could barely stand, she was mildly bruised and scraped. But she was standing.

'Enough, ' he waved her off nonchalantly, ignoring the singed sleeve of his shirt. Ryoko did manage to get him that one time. Barely. But she did.

Unintentionally, his mind already devised a regiment to increase her stamina, speed, and reaction time. She was like a new shiny toy he wanted to play with.

'Yes ' Orochimaru-sensei, ' the girl sighed, lowering her hands from the fighting stance. He scoffed at the title but didn 't correct her. After all, he didn 't agree to this arrangement yet.

'So, what is your goal, girrrl? '

'I want to become strong. '

'That 's it? ' he sneered, not impressed.

'I want to be as strong as Madara-sama. '

Out of all the shinobi from the legends, she had to choose him? Well, when you think about it, it probably was not

that

strange. She was an Uchiha, but from Orochimaru 's experience, even her clan did not favor their predecessor that much.

'He is infamous. Why would youuuu want to be like himmmm? '

'Because ' he's a badass? '

'

Badass?

' he raised one delicate eyebrow.

'Yup, ' that innocent smile of hers was ominous. Orochimaru found that he liked it. Maybe for others, it would be strange to see a child act this way. But the sannin saw nothing odd. She had that sense of darkness around her. The aura, that he suspected, was usually carefully hidden. But now it was out in the open. Only for him to see.

Interesting.

She had promise. She had determination. She could be a good specimen to see just how far the sharingan could be pushed ' Danzo did suggest to him before an opportunity to experiment on sharingan. But if he could get his hands on this girl ' then he would not have to make the deal with the devil himself. Orochimaru smiled in the same unsettling manner.

'Fine. I will teachhhh you. But I do not accept failure. '

'Yes, Sensei! '

??????????